Now, as the founder of an app called SCVNGR, which is like geek code for "scavenger" hunt, Priebatsch is trying to turn the real world into more of a video game by prompting people with mobile challenges.

Priebatsch sat down with CNN recently to talk about how game mechanics can make us better people -- by improving schools and promoting fun.

The last decade of tech, he says, was all about social apps and websites, like Facebook and MySpace. Now, he says, we're in the decade of games -- a time in which technologists are working to build a "game layer" on top of the real world.